Homes by the sea have a special attraction. This week two: one a three-bed house, the other an apartment, close to eachother on the seafront on Monkstown, Co Dublin, are on the market. Frances O'Rourke and Emma Cullinan report

Seapoint Avenue: €950,000

An excellent view from an upstairs room of 41 Seapoint Avenue, Monkstown, Co Dublin, will be its main attraction for many buyers.

The end-of-terrace three-bed, tucked into the corner of an L-shaped group of houses at the far end of Trafalgar Terrace on the coast road, has views across the houses at Brighton Vale both to Howth and back towards the Pigeon House at Ringsend. Built in 1835, it is the same vintage as Trafalgar Terrace.

It is for sale by private treaty through Sherry FitzGerald for €950,000.

The 102 sq m (1,102 sq ft) three-storey house is a period house in miniature, with smaller rooms than its grander neighbours, but with some pleasing period details - cast-iron fireplaces, cornicing, original window shutters and the like.

A small sittingroom opens off the entrance hall to the left; behin it is a bedroom which opens through a window onto a tiny sundeck. Upstairs, the main bedroom is the room with a view; a third bedroom at the back of the house looks over the trees of Eaton Place. A small bathroom up a few steep stairs has a clawfoot bath.

Accommodation at garden level includes a kitchen, bathroom, utility room and a comfortable livingroom with a tiled floor and surprisingly, more glimpsed views of the sea. There is an entrance at this level. A shed outside at the front of the house provides storage space.

The house has no garden. There is space for parking in the communal area at the front shared by a number of other houses.

The house has been well-maintained but needs updating and redecorating.

Look carefully if you plan to view it - this cluster of houses is next to, but separate from Trafalgar Terrace, just before the Belgrave road turn off the coast road - and numbering is very confusing. (Even numbered houses like number 40, e.g., are nowhere near number 41).

Seafield Avenue: €550,000

A garden level apartment on Seafield Avenue, Monkstown, one of four in a converted period house, has been sympathetically decorated and is now for sale through Sherry FitzGerald which is seeking offers in the region of €550,000.

The house is on the corner of Seafield and the coast road, not far away from 41 Seapoint Avenue and enjoying pretty much the same views of Dublin Bay. The main livingroom has timber flooring and a marble fireplace. Three picture windows make the most of views out to Howth Head.

The kitchen and breakfastroom lead off this room through two sets of double doors.

The bathroom is of a decent size, and incorporates a corner bath, toilet, bidet and shower. There is also an en suite in one of the two bedrooms.

The main house sits in gardens and this apartment has access to its own courtyard.